Hitler Youth: The Future of Germany

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Hitler Youth: The Future of Germany

The Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend-HJ) were for Hitler the future of the Nazi party. Hitler’s

dream of a thousand year Reich could only be accomplished through the youth, which were

deemed the most important aspect of Germany's future as a powerful nation. "The future

of the German nation depends on its youth, and the German youth shall have to be prepared

for its future duties."(i) The youth were important because they would continue the Nazi

legacy and spread propaganda to future generations. Hitler was so obsessed with his quest

for the future of Germany, that he devoted most of his endeavors, such as the acquisition of Lebensraum and the elimination of the subhumans, for the purpose of gaining more land for the future generations.

Hitler was not some all mighty God that was able to just snap his fingers and the youth

would follow him, he was aided in the fact that the youth were on a quest of their own:

independence. They were energetic, full of life, and had an overwhelming love for

Germany along with spirit and a quest to find their position in life. Hitler recognized these

characteristics of the youth and decided to incorporate them into his plan for the National

Socialist German Worker's Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party) to flourish. These

characteristics and Hitler's involvement became the leading tragedy and inspiration of the

German youth movement. This youth movement began before World War I, was the result

of the industrial revolution, and came to be known as the ‘Youth Revolution.’(ii)

The Early Movement

In the 1920's, the German youth were involved

in about two thousand groups and organizations.

The most popular organization was the

Wandervogel, which was popular due to the

involvement of sports. Boys were able to go on

weekend retreats, where they would hike and

learn to survive on their own in the wilderness.

Organized sporting events of soccer and other

various competitions kept the interests of the

children. The Wandervogel were noted for their

love of the land, not the new, modern

conveniences of the cities. Hiking and skiing were chosen over activities such as watching a

movie or going to a dance.

The Wandervogel, which was formed November 4, 1901(iii), reflected the main attitudes of

the of the youth movement.

American Boy Scouts saluting Hitler Youth in Munich in 1935. Koch p. 196.

In some ways the Wandervogel was a manifestation of the perceptible mood of boredom and

restlessness appearance of Wilhelmian Germany was little more than a facade which

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